A delightful take on a historical arranged marriage! I enjoyed the characters and the plot. I also felt the language used was spot-on for the time I laughed hard at some it!

This book was fine... but that's basically all I can say about it. I think the plot was tilted so heavily to the kids, that it really lost the romance aspect. It slowed things down and kept me from engaging with the book. It wasn't bad, per say, it just really didn't connect with me in a meaningful way.

3.5 stars = Good+

This is marketed as a romance, but in my opinion, it's really not. It's a historical story with a romantic side plot, at best. The focus is almost solely on the kids and the charade the whole household is trying to accomplish, everyone for their own reasons.

The story is predictable, but I think predictable stories have their place. I enjoyed the kids as well as the growing warmth between Will and Emmie. I especially adored how the household staff protected the kids and the Pershings. The number of lies and attempts at subterfuge became almost ridiculous. But all in all, it was an enjoyable read.

Reading "Something in the Heir" by Suzanne Enoch was a true joy. From the beginning, Will Pershing and his disheveled mop of dark brown hair grabbed me by the heart. He's the quintessential charming, patient and kind boy-next-door, and Emmeline's creativity and self-depricating nature endeared me to her as well.

This story is a delightful comedy of errors. Concerned with his bloodline, Emmeline's grandfather, the Duke of Welshire, has conditioned residence within Welshire Hall upon marriage and children. When Emmeline is faced with the possibility of losing her childhood home to her scheming cousin after her mother decides to move to Bath, she enters into a marriage of convenience with her best friend Will. The only problem? They're unable to have any children.

Unknown to Will, Emmeline has taken care of things by inventing two sweet, if sickly, kids. When the Duke summons everyone to his estate for a family birthday party, the two of them must come up with real-life children to play the part. What follows is a story of found family, rediscovered love and enough hijinks to keep you laughing most of the way through.

The story is told through multiple points of view, which allows the reader to have a fuller picture of the story as it enfolds.

This book is for anyone who loves:
❤️‍🔥 Historical romance (FYI: Closed door)
👰🏻 Marriage of convenience
😍 Friends to lovers
🗣️ Multiple POV
😁 Light-hearted banter
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Plotlines involving found families
👑 A satisfying happily-ever-after

Note: Please be aware of the trigger warnings this book contains, including infertility, loss of parents (off-page), petty theft and dysfunctional families.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me the chance to read and provide an honest review of this book! I've posted this review to my social platforms, Amazon and B&N listings and on GoodReads.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a cute romance novel and it was a fun read.

This is a romantic story that happens backwards- the pair become engaged in the opening pages and spend the rest of the novel gently falling in love. However, the romance is done very subtly and it isn't the main focus of the book.

A few more sweet scenes between Emmaline and William to show a spark in their relationship would have brought my rating up to a five.

The heart of the novel is the relationship Emmaline and William develop with the two orphans they borrowed from the orphanage.
Rose and George are hilarious and totally adorable. I loved how they expressed themselves whether it was polite or not. It was heartwarming to watch them interact with William and Emmaline as well as the staff and slowly bring laughter and friendship back into the household. It was difficult not to like the children and hope that Emmaline and William would resolve their issues and find a way to adopt them and save their home.
There were a few twists involving the children's older brother that added extra drama. The inevitable HEA for the newfound family was heartwarming and uplifting. A really charming and delightful story that I found difficult to put down.

Something in the Heir was a fun historical novel about a couple who needed to have kids to keep their house but didn't. Will and Emmeline come up with a scheme to borrow two kids from an orphanage to try and fool her family. This book had a lot of really good side plots and other focuses but not enough of Will and Emmeline fixing their marriage. The fix and the solution all seemed so rushed while other plotlines were unnecessarily stretched out. Overall a good read and I look forward to reading more from Suzanne Enoch in the future!

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review!

I really enjoyed this historical romance! It's my first experience with the author and I don't think that it will be my last since I found this to be such a genuinely fun and delightful read. I am sure that some fans of the romance genre will not be as satisfied with this - as it is decidedly not steamy. But it does fall into the friends to lovers trope which I enjoy and I don't mind the bedroom scenes being left up to the imagination. I had a lot of fun reading this and found that all of the characters really grew on me!

Emmeline loves Winnover Hall where she grew up. But in order to continue living there, she must meet the conditions laid out her grandfather, the Duke. This leads to her to a hasty marriage and the eventual creation of two children who exist only on paper. As her grandfather's birthday approaches - and after all these years, he demands to have all of the generations surrounding him, Emmeline needs to come up with some children in order to keep her home.

The plot may follow predictable paths, but that doesn't in any way detract from the fun. It's a light-hearted read and one that I genuinely enjoyed a lot more than I expected to! There are a few head-hopping moments that grated on my nerves, but that's a real pet peeve of hime. And I appreciated the various perspectives - including those of the children. I imagine that an audio version would be equally entertaining (provided the reader doesn't over-do the children's voices). I laughed out loud in places here and there may have even been a moment where my eyes welled up! It's a satisfying read from start to finish! I just wish that the epilogue had gone a bit further out into the future... I just wasn't ready to say goodbye to these characters!

Emmeline and Will married hastily and very young, so that Emmeline could keep her family home. Their married relationship ended up being very formal. In fact, I wasn't sure about the book during the very first part, because it just didn't seem "fun".

The fun starts when the couple needs to come up with two children that Emmie has told everyone about (they needed to produce children in order to keep the house). The children they end up with (Rose and George) are adorable little hellions, and as soon as they came on the scene I started greatly enjoying the story. I loved how the servants from then butler on down dealt with the children, and I loved watching the love between Emmie and Will grow as they learn how to be parents and friends and not just business partners. Rose and George were alternately heart-wrenching and funny.

I'd recommend this book to people who like historical romance! I had a hard time putting it down.

A laugh-out-loud turn on a marriage of convenience, Suzanne Enoch's Something in the Heir will leave you laughing and happy sighing.

Emmie needs to get married and fast if she's going to stop her cousin from taking over her beloved childhood estate. There's just one problem, her cousin is already engaged and Emmie just debuted on her first season. Talking it over with her longtime childhood friend and neighbor, Will, the two decide to marry as quickly as possible. He'll have an advantageous marriage and Emmie will get to keep her estate. Eight years later, the two find themselves in a bit of a predicament, they are in need of two children that Emmie wrote to her reclusive uncle about for his upcoming birthday, two children that Will was not aware existed up until that moment. Deciding to borrow a brother and sister from a London orphanage, the two think they're going to pull off their forgery until it turns out the two children, Gorge and Rose, aren't as demure as the pair originally thought. What will our marriage of convince pair do, especially since after eight years of living parallel lives, they suddenly find themselves having feelings for one another?

I was sent a copy of this by St. Martin's Press as an ARC to review and I couldn't put it down once I started. I love regency era historical romance and the marriage of convenience is a trope I'm particularly fond of in this genre, but this marriage of convenience story was unlike any other I've come across. I was laughing on nearly every page and found myself rooting for the foursome from the beginning. Now I find myself wanting to read Suzanne's other books. A five-star read perfect for Bridgerton fans who particularly love younger Hyacinth and Gregory.

I have to be honest I went into this book thinking it was a historical fiction romance novel. I was slightly disappointed. I loved the small children in the book and the way that William took care of Emmeline. The overall plot was okay but not the best storyline I have read. I would have been so much happier with this book if there had been a bit more romance between William and Emmeline. Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I'm a huge Suzanne Enoch fan and usually enjoy her witty dialogue and exciting plots with steamy romance mixed in. This novel is a huge departure from her usual writing. I enjoyed it but not nearly as much as her other novels.

This novel is not really a romance and more a slapstick comedy with some tender family moments.
I don’t recommend this one, Enoch's other historical romances are better paced, a proper length, just as funny, and include steam. Also don’t put a bed on the cover if there’s no hot sex in said bed.

Special thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC of this book for an honest review.

Something in the Heir was an enjoyable read with an entertaining premise that was full of surprises.

Emmeline and William Pershing have enjoyed a marriage of convenience for eight years where they have been content to lead separate lives under the same roof. When Emmeline's grandfather, the Duke of Welshire, summons the entire family to his home for his seventieth birthday celebration, their perfectly ordered life begins to come crashing down. For Emmeline has invented two children to meet the requirement of having an heir to remain in their home who obviously cannot appear. Or can they? Enter George and Rose Fletcher, two orphans the Pershings take in to play the role of their children. What could possibly go wrong?

The premise of this story immediately intrigued me and I was curious how the characters would manage to pull off their ruse (if they'd be able to at all). I will admit I was a bit hesitant about the idea of "renting" two orphans but I was interested to see how the author would handle it. After George and Rose come to the Pershings' home, the couple begin to give them lessons so they would fit with how children of a well-bred couple would be expected to behave. The lessons were a great source of entertainment and I loved how the children kept everyone on their toes. I liked that the Pershings were open with the children about what was going on and that they negotiated with them to make sure both sides were happy with the arrangement. As the book goes on, it becomes clear that the Pershings have come to care for the children and I was happy with the way the author managed to wrap up their story.

The romance in this book is a very minor element to the story which I wasn't expecting based on my previous experience with the author's books. After Emmie had her debut, her parents let her know they would be moving which meant the home they lived in would go to the next eligible family member to marry. In order to remain in her beloved home Emmie proposed a marriage of convenience to Will, her childhood friend. Over the next eight years, the pair drifted apart to the point they were living separate lives under the same roof. After the arrival of the Fletcher children, the pair began to bond over the experience and they grew closer. I enjoyed getting to see their romance slowly build and I was happy that by the book's end they agreed to give their relationship a real shot.

Overall Something in the Heir was a fun read that I would recommend if you're looking for a great historical fiction book to pick up.

For as much as I love Suzanne Enoch stories, this one just felt way too flat for me. I couldn’t connect with any of the characters, their interactions were just too bland for me and overall i couldn’t find that spark that her books have usually. Might be just me and my mood reader problems but I can’t help wondering if I’m right or wrong. Either way, I’ll still be reading her books because I know that not everything is for everyone.

Very grateful to the publisher for my review copy

I received an advanced reader's copy of Something in the Heir by Suzanne Enoch.

I love Suzanne Enoch's writing and am a fan of her work. It was a bit challenging to empathize with characters who are scheming and lying in order to keep their home but I appreciated that Emmeline acknowledged that she was being deceptive and William had second thoughts about their plans. They did, however, proceed with their plans and didn't seem to consider the emotional/psychological impact their actions would have on the children. The children borrowed from the orphanage, George and Rose, were likable and I really enjoyed reading the scenes they were in.

While there were some aspects of the story I found hard to relate to, it is a well-written story.

This book will definitely bring some readers joy, but it just wasn't for me. Emmeline impulsively proposes and marries (but, only as a partnership to further each other's goals) her friend Will Pershing all because she wants to inherit her childhood home from her grandfather (and a stipulation of its inheritance is to be married, and then to have kids.) It should come as no surprise then, that when the time comes, she invents two kids that she writes home about, so that the house can stay in her possession. Her grandfather wants to celebrate his legacy though, after seven years of her (uncaught) lies, and now she, and her husband, who didn't know she had lied about having had children, have to figure out how to produce two children to keep their estate. They try to borrow business clients' kids, poor people's kids, and finally have success in borrowing kids from an orphanage. Hijinks ensue, a plot twist occurs, and yada yada.

The story didn't resolve until the last 5ish pages, and it was not enough to redeem ANYONE. I thought this was going to be a rom-com, and it was heavy on the com, way too light and slow on the rom. Emmeline and William are perfect for each other in that they are so utterly selfish and awful. William continuously goes, "Wow, I didn't know you were so brilliant!" as Emmeline creates more and more lies, and uses orphaned children to further her own lifestyle. It was just hard for me to read. It was like if the two people who pretend to be Annie's parents for the money in Annie actually succeeded.

All that said, this is a personal taste preference! You might really enjoy this book. It is certainly entertaining.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the e-ARC.

Historical romance is not always one of my go to comfort genres and I feel this book is a great example of why. The main couple lacked chemistry. If there was any swooning happening, it was over the maid and the stable fella. That couple got "the" kiss of the book.

I knew what I was getting with this book but it still felt even more exploitative than I thought it would be. They were still trying to find a home for these kids way past when it would have been ok to claim them for themselves. The kids were a mess and I got a kick out of them. Stealing nearly everything in the house and hiding it from the butler was making me laugh. They were exactly what this couple needed.

I don't want to knock closed door romances because some people are really into them but this couple could have used the added emotional umph by adding physical intimacy to their story at all.

Thank you to Netgalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are my own.

I LOVED this book!!! I am not sure why but if any of you have read the original Amelia Bedelia books as a kid, this will give you major nostalgic feelings. I couldn't stop thinking about those books as I was reading it. I laughed SO much. I also loved the romance of it! and the kids! what a SWEET story, that literally made me cry at the end. I can't recommend this book enough, it was amazing!

This is billed as a historical romantic comedy, and for the most part that's accurate! However, more than anything this book is about found family.

Told through not just the eyes of Emmeline and William Pershing (a couple who begin the story in a marriage of convenience), but George and Rose Fletcher (the delightful unruly orphans of the description) and members of the household staff, you know things are going to be fun for everyone involved from the moment one of the nuns laughs after sending the Fletchers away with the Pershings.

Chaos ensues. Lives are changed. Plans are created. Truths are revealed.

If you like the family moments from the Bridgerton books or show, odds are that you'll find this enjoyable! For the most part the romance is secondary to the family being built, but you do get nice hints of it. This book might have ranked a bit higher for me had Emmeline had a different approach to acquiring the children earlier on - I had to just keep on reading with the hope that there would be development for her on that front (there was, though some acknowledgment in retrospect of how odd the first attempts were could have been nice too).

'Something in the Heir,' by Suzanne Enoch is an adorable historical romance. It pulls at all the right heart strings and is fun and light-hearted.